To Bring You My Love
Artist: PJ Harvey
Community Score: 8.29

Following the tour for Rid of Me, Polly Harvey parted ways with Robert Ellis and Stephen Vaughn, leaving her free to expand her music from the bluesy punk that dominated PJ Harvey's first two albums. It also left her free to experiment with her style of songwriting. Where Dry and Rid of Me seemed brutally honest, To Bring You My Love feels... Read More

In Memory
Artist: Nevermore

Sporting some of singer Warrel Dane's most extreme vocal workouts, In Memory is an impressive musical display of neo-progressive yet heavy melodic metal. With an identical band lineup and producer Neil Kernon returning to helm the console, the results on this follow-up to 1995's eponymous debut are predictably similar. The bombastic medley of... Read More

Old Gold: 1989-1991
Artist: The Cows

Serving as both an excellent introduction to the Cows' freaked-out, discordant universe and as a reissue of older, out-of-print album tracks and singles, Old Gold captures this quartet's arc of development from a sloppy, discordant Butthole Surfer-esque punk band to legendary noise rock merchants. Culling tracks from 1989's massively off-kilter... Read More

Casanova - BONUS DISC
Artist: The Divine Comedy

Turning back to a slightly more straightforward rock/pop format turned out to be advantageous for Neil Hannon; Casanova turned into a smash hit in the U.K., while the singles "Something for the Weekend" (at once soaring, cheeky, leering, and truly weird, with lyrics detailing a guy led astray by his lover and attacked by her secret thug... Read More

Fever In Fever Out
Artist: Luscious Jackson
Community Score: 8.00

For all of its sunny eclecticism, Natural Ingredients lacked the darkly funky urban soundscapes that made In Search of Manny so engaging. Fever In Fever Out brings that dark funkiness while keeping the pop hooks that made Natural Ingredients a step forward. Producer Daniel Lanois keeps his ambient tendencies to a minimum, providing just enough... Read More

Stag
Artist: Melvins
Community Score: 8.55

The repeating sitar-into-guitar-chord start of the album makes it clear that Stag isn't going to be quite like anything the Melvins had yet recorded to that point. There's such a strong and audible emphasis on the band really exploring the possibilities of the studio throughout that the effect is breathtaking -- it's a huge, epic sound that's... Read More

Everything I Long For
Artist: Hayden
Community Score: 7.00

Solitary, rootsy post-punk of the best kind, delving into somewhat dark and twisted terrrain, but invested with a lot of passion and unflinching grit. The sparse and haunting arrangements put acoustic guitars at the forefront, but vary the pace with occasional searing licks, eerie solo piano, and harmony vocals. It's one of the relatively few... Read More

Martin + Me
Artist: J Mascis

Martin + Me, the first solo album from Dinosaur Jr. leader J Mascis, was recorded on his acoustic tour in the fall of 1995. Mascis ran through a number of Dinosaur songs, as well as a handful of covers (the Smiths' "The Boy With the Thorn in His Side," the Wipers' "On the Run," Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Every Mother's Son," Carly Simon's... Read More

Gotta Get over Greta
Artist: The Nields

Acoustic folk music meets pop/punk/country in a strong and daring shoot out. Listen to the dominating rhythm section and the fuzzed guitar of the opening cut, "I Need a Doctor," you know you are listening to an acoustic band making a strong, rocking statement. They even have Kevin Moloney (Sinead O'Connor and U2) as producer. However, the... Read More

Intoxicated Man
Artist: Mick Harvey
Community Score: 8.00

Intoxicated Man is the first of Mick Harvey's tributes to French singer/songwriter Serge Gainsbourg. Released at a time when the icon was largely unknown outside his home country, the album offers 16 English translations. Years spent in a supporting role with Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds taught Harvey the importance of yielding to the song. Whether... Read More

The Mirror Pool
Artist: Lisa Gerrard
Community Score: 5.00

Lisa Gerrard was so indelibly and obviously a part of what made Dead Can Dance what it is that it's little wonder that The Mirror Pool feels essentially like a continuation of that band's haunting, vast atmospheres. Without Brendan Perry's deep, rolling voice as a contrast, Gerrard's sky-sweeping abilities transform the entire recording into a... Read More

311
Artist: 311
Community Score: 7.41

It is the seamless way the songs on the eponymously titled 311 combine the band's influences into a potent blend of rap, funk, and rock that renders this album a cut above those of their competitors. These riff-heavy and radio-ready songs are underscored by a tight drum sound (often with a piccolo snare), the scratching of turntables, and the... Read More

Niandra Lades and Usually Just a T-Shirt
Artist: John Frusciante
Community Score: 6.07

Upon leaving the Red Hot Chili Peppers in 1992, guitarist John Frusciante delved into home recording, eventually completing a 12-track album titled Niandra Lades that bore the influence of '60s oddballs like Syd Barrett and Captain Beefheart. Niandra Lades languished on the shelf for a while until it was paired with another 12-track collection... Read More

Short Bus
Artist: Filter
Community Score: 6.68
Happy Feet
Artist: 8½ Souvenirs
Community Score: 7.00